Encyclopedia of Espionage, Intelligence, and Security

Nixon Administration (1969–1974), United States National Security
Policy

█ CARYN E. NEUMANN

Richard Nixon took office in 1969 as the country struggled to deal with
the effects of the war in Vietnam. The inability of the United States to
quickly win the war forced a review of national security policy. With the
resulting Nixon Doctrine, the U.S. adjusted its foreign commitments to
more effectively and efficiently utilize its resources. The Nixon
administration pursued an honorable exit in Vietnam, sought peace with the
Soviet Union, and reduced tensions with communist China by normalizing
relations, while declining to pursue idealistic goals peripheral to the
balance of military and geopolitical power.

The Nixon administration began with an overhaul of the national security
advisory process. Nixon had apparently harbored resentments over perceived
snubs delivered by Foreign Service officers when he served as
vice-president under Eisenhower. He also preferred a solitary approach to
decision-making. As president, he was determined to circumvent and
minimize the State Department's traditional role in foreign policy
in favor of conducting policy from the White House.

The National Security Council (NSC) under Nixon would function as a rival
State Department with only adviser Henry Kissinger participating in the
President's important discussions with visiting foreign officials.
To further keep the State Department shut out of negotiations with foreign
governments, Kissinger relied upon CIA communications for "back
channel" messages as he traveled from country to country. The NSC
also took control of the process of clearing key policy cables to overseas
posts. Secretary of State William P. Rogers, less experienced in foreign
affairs, played a minor role in policy formulation. In late 1973,
Kissinger replaced Rogers. For the first time, one individual held
simultaneously the positions of national security adviser and secretary of
state.

The Vietnam War dominated American affairs in the late 1960s and it became
the first major dilemma faced by the Nixon administration. To restore
American power, Nixon decided to exit Southeast Asia in a way that would
preserve the reputation of the U.S. as a country that honored its
commitments. The administration elected to pursue a two-pronged approach
of a phased withdrawal of ground troops and a modernization of the South
Vietnamese military to enable it to assume full responsibility for the
fighting. This policy stressed that an allied country must demonstrate the
ability to provide for its own security since the U.S. would no longer
provide the major defensive effort. The U.S. completed disengagement from
Vietnam in 1973.

While the U.S. had been focused upon Vietnam, the Soviet Union had moved
from a position of strategic inferiority to one of strategic parity. The
system of mutual deterrence that rested upon the threat of retaliatory
annihilation now no longer existed because the Soviets had developed a
first-strike capability. Kissinger argued that the Soviets were more
likely to be conciliatory if they feared that the U.S. would seek cordial
relations with China. Since 1949, when the communists established control
on mainland China, the U.S. had preferred to regard the exiled regime on
Taiwan as the legitimate Chinese government. However, a Sino-American
alliance would create a new balance of power by checking the Soviet
superiority in conventional military forces. Accordingly, Nixon visited
China in 1972 and drove a wedge between the two chief bastions of
communism in the world. The Soviets, now anxious for an easing of tensions
(known as détente) signed the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks
agreement in May 1972 to limit the number of intercontinental ballistic
missiles (ICBMs) and the construction of antiballistic missile systems
(ABMs).

The Watergate scandal that forced Nixon's resignation in 1974
overshadowed his foreign policy accomplishments and contributed to a
perceived mistrust of national leaders. Despite the enormous impact of
Watergate, Nixon's pragmatic approach to international relations
continues to influence debates about the proper role of the U.S. in world
affairs.